{"id":105898,"date":"2025-08-14T21:14:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T01:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=105898"},"modified":"2025-08-14T21:14:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T01:14:15","slug":"phillies-moving-six-man-rotation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/08\/14\/phillies-moving-six-man-rotation\/","title":{"rendered":"Phillies Moving to Six-Man Rotation in the Short Term"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Philadelphia Phillies announced they will be utilizing a six-man rotation for at least one turn. This will coincide with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nolaaa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Nola<\/a> returning <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/05\/16\/phillies-place-aaron-nola-injured-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">from the injured list<\/a> on August 17. Nola had a 0-1 record with a 2.19 ERA in three minor league rehab starts. He recorded a 1.47 FIP with a 5.67 K\/BB rate and a 1.135 WHIP in those outings. In the majors this season Nola has a 1-7 record with a 6.16 ERA in nine starts. Nola has a 5.04 FIP with a 3.25 K\/BB rate and a 1.510 WHIP in the majors this year. With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/alvarjo03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jos\u00e9 Alvarado<\/a> set to return from a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/05\/18\/alvarado-suspended-80-games-ped-usage\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">suspension<\/a> on August 19, the Phillies have some huge roster decisions to make in the coming days.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_100468\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-100468\" style=\"width: 476px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-100468\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/USATSI_26177363-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"476\" height=\"317\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/USATSI_26177363-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/USATSI_26177363-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/USATSI_26177363-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/USATSI_26177363-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/USATSI_26177363-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/USATSI_26177363-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/05\/USATSI_26177363-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 476px) 100vw, 476px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-100468\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">May 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This move keeps <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/walketa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taijuan Walker<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/phillies\/news\/taijuan-walker-has-quality-start-in-series-opener-vs-reds\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in the rotation<\/a> for the time being. Walker has been surprisingly good this season for the Phillies. After <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/03\/15\/phillies-taijuan-walker-decision\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">an awful 2024 season<\/a>, Walker has made the most of his starting opportunities this year. He has a 4-5 record with a 3.39 ERA in 25 outings, including 14 starts. Furthermore, Walker has a 4.85 FIP along with a 2.38 K\/BB rate and a 1.29 WHIP this season. He is doing better than last season in each of those stat categories. Walker&#8217;s 1.48 HR\/9 allowed rate this season is a notable improvement compared to the 2024 season. This has stabilized the rotation while Nola has been on the injured list.<\/p>\n<h2>Phillies Will Move to Six-Man Rotation Temporarily<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Phillies will be going to a six man rotation with Aaron Nola making his first start in three months on Sunday. The Phillies are hoping some extra rest for their starters will help. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LFDSiH9ytZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/LFDSiH9ytZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JClarkNBCS\/status\/1956125901164367913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Getting Some Starters Extra Rest<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wheelza01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zack Wheeler<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/suarera01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ranger Su\u00e1rez<\/a> have both struggled in recent outings. Wheeler even had his most recent start pushed back because of shoulder soreness. This could also be why he has seen a velocity decrease in recent outings. Since the All-Star break, Wheeler has a 4.37 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP with a 4.08 FIP in four starts. In the first half of the season, Wheeler had a 2.36 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP with a 2.71 FIP in 19 starts. Meanwhile, Su\u00e1rez has a 6.59 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP with a 4.02 FIP in five starts since the All-Star break. Compare that to his 2.15 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 3.00 FIP in 13 starts in the first half of the season.<\/p>\n<h3>Schedule Considerations<\/h3>\n<p>The schedule most certainly factored into the Phillies&#8217; decision to go to a six-man rotation. They are in the midst of a stretch of 13 games in 13 days between August 9 and August 20. After an off day on August 21, the Phillies have a stretch of 11 games in 11 days. The last game of that stretch is on September 1, which is the same day that rosters expand to 28 players. It would not be entirely surprising if the Phillies utilize a six-man rotation until then. At that point, Walker or potentially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/luzarje01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jes\u00fas Luzardo<\/a> would <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/08\/02\/phillies-should-look-move-jesus-luzardo-bullpen\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">move to the bullpen<\/a> for the remainder of the season. Su\u00e1rez would be another candidate to be moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen at that point.<\/p>\n<h3>Upcoming Roster Decision<\/h3>\n<p>When Nola returns, the Phillies will need to make a corresponding 26-man roster move and a 40-man roster move. The 40-man roster move is because Nola is currently on the 60-day injured list as opposed to the 15-day injured list. The Phillies currently have a full 40-man roster, meaning they will need to clear a spot for Nola. An easy way to clear a spot on both is to release <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/romanjo03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jordan Romano<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rossjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joe Ross<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lazarma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Max Lazar<\/a> being optioned is another alternative for the 26-man roster spot. With Alvarado returning, an additional 40-man roster spot will need to open up. This means there is a decent chance that at least one of Romano or Ross is released by the Phillies in the coming days.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Philadelphia Phillies announced they will be utilizing a six-man rotation for at least one turn. This will coincide with Aaron Nola returning from the injured list on August 17. Nola had a 0-1 record with a 2.19 ERA in three minor league rehab starts. He recorded a 1.47 FIP with a 5.67 K\/BB rate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4566,"featured_media":104107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,926,1071,35],"tags":[1069,3425,749,3359,2347,3009,701,683],"class_list":["post-105898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-phillies","category-milb","category-mlb","category-news","tag-aaron-nola","tag-jesus-luzardo","tag-joe-ross","tag-jordan-romano","tag-jose-alvarado","tag-ranger-suarez","tag-taijuan-walker","tag-zack-wheeler"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4566"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105898"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105902,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105898\/revisions\/105902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}